No, it's not for a cake either.

I wish it was........

Okay, here goes.....

I have a very good older friend, whom I have know for over 25 years....she has done cakes for about 40 years....word of mouth only....also taught many cake classes thru the local community college. She thoroughly encouraged me to get legal and helped me to learn so much about caking.....a true friend there has never been.......





She has recently found out that she has roughly 4-6 months to live....she is dying.....I am stunned, mad, and hurt that I am going to lose a very dear friend....

The job that I have been asked to take on is to price ALL HER CAKE DECORATING ITEMS.....we are talking 40 years worth! Many Wilton Cake Decorating Books...dating back to the early 70's......tons of pans, seperator plates, fountains, columns, tips, colors, tons of things!

I don't know how to price the many retired pans that she has....where do I start at? Some of these pans are back in the 70's...at least that is the 'printed' dates stamped on them....HELP!

I could not finish the post!

Anyhow....she wants to sell it all for whatever she can get out of it...her only dd has not interest in it....and she just wants it gone. I accepted the job....just don't know how to price these 'retired pans'....I am going by the Wilton book for this year, and doing the best I can.....I am not pricing it over priced...but not giving it away either. Most of her stuff is in EXCELLENT condition....

I just need some ideas....very overwhelmed with this sad event as it is......

You may be able to do some comparison shopping on e-Bay for those pans, then price them accordingly.

I'm very sorry about your friend. She obviously trusts you a lot to do a good job for her. Good luck to you both.

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First of all I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. That would be a hard thing to do. I was told that the best way to get an idea of the value is go look on e-bay. That's just want I was told and I don't know that for a fact. Good luck and God Bless.

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. If it were me, I would begin by searching ebay for cake tools and vintage cake pans to get an idea of what things are going for. For the pans and Wilton books-- you might also want to post your message in the Wilton Character Pan forum. I bet someone there would be able to help you.

I am sorry to hear such sad news. My heart goes out to you.

As for suggestions ... You may want to sell some of the retired items by auction (ebay).. Some of those old pans go for quite a bit of money and the books too for that matter.

My heart is breaking.....she has been such a driving force in my life...in so many ways...not just in caking....

I just dont' want it to be real.......but I know in my heart...that it is.......and the worst part for me?

She is handling it like a trooper....*I* am the total basket case around her.....I GOTTA GET A GRIP ON IT! Life stinks sometimes......I made my dd's bday cake on Saturday....and all I could think about was J......how many times I have been to her home and she was 'caking up a storm'...as she put it.

My heart goes out to you. I cannot imagine losing my best friend, I get teary eyed just thinking about it. But I definitely agree that ebay is the way to go.

So sorry for you both. She has a great friend in you. You might want to try Craig's List (not sure where you live) Very easy without the hassle and expense of eBay. Thoughts and prayers are with you guys.

I've got no suggestions for you for the job you've been given. My heart hurts for you all. I surely would not want to be doing something like this while she was still alive...I'd want to spend all the time I could with her, not her stuff.

Look at it this way ... she has entrusted you with finding a loving home for the things that have made her happy for the last 40 years. These "things" are not "things" to her .... they are her life. And she trusts YOU to care for these "things", that she probably considers as much a part of her as her right arm. What an honor. As hard as it will be for you (and I've no doubt whatsoever it will be terribly hard for you), know what a gift she has given you.

And think of the good times and memories you will create as you go thru her things together .... I'm betting each pieces will have a memory or story to her that could result in lots of conversations and strolls thru memory lane with the two of you. *THAT* is the greatest gift of all.

Big hugs to you. And yeah ... start with ebay's sales history. Some of those discontinued pans bring huge prices anymore.

it is never easy to lose a friend or family member. You have actually been given a gift here. precious time that you can spend with her during her remaining months and the assistance she is asking of you to sell probably some of her prized possesions in order to get the best value out of them for her daughters benefit. She's trusting you, since you are also a caker and know the value, or will know where to find the value and how to get rid of them, with out giving them away. Its probably an over whelming task, but just take a few items at time. Having you do this for her is one of the items off of her bucket list. and you are a true friend in her eyes also. Bless you both.

Like Indy said, check ebay's sales history. You might have to join for that if you aren't already a member.

I agree with Indy - she put you in charge because you would make sure these went to cake people. Even though it is hard, she knows you'll recognize what things are and won't just get rid of them. I never got the chance to get any of my grandmother's baking items, but certain things cakes and smells remind me of her in the kitchen. She lives on through that. I would want these things sold so that they could be used by other bakers. I couldn't help but wonder if that isn't why your friend is doing this now, with you.

Do your best. You'll both be in my prayers.

First & formost - my heart goes out to you & your friend through this time. Secondly, she loves those cake tools & trusts you to sell them for their worth, not yard sale prices. She probably knows you will do your best to sell them for their true value, to people who are cake-a-holics like she is. I would sit down with her, make a list of the items, & enjoy a cup of coffee while the two of you remember the good times caking, even the disasters. Just spend the time together with good memories & conversation. Now or later on, find good pricing samples & post on ebay, personal website or on craigs list. JMHO.

I don't know if this will help, but my sil's sister is terminal with cancer, she is only 37 with one daugher and unfortunately has gone through a horrible divorce along with her heavy burden of treatments. The family got together and decided to try and help her financially even though she had insurance. The went to a church and asked if they could use their facilty to have a benefit garage sale for her. They advertised it for weeks, and received many donations to help the cause, they also did silent auctions. In the end, they took in $8000.00, which has helped her tremendously with house payments, bills and food. She can no longer take care of herself and the love and caring of not only the family but friends was overwhelming. She has battled this disease for 3 years, and I personally don't know how she has hung on. The family is now getting ready to have a roller skating benefit. The owner has agreed to let all proceeds that day go towards her. I am telling you these things so that maybe you could arrange something like this for your friend. Both of you are in my prayers, in the end the most important thing is your love and compassion and you will do whats right.

So sorry to hear about your friend. My thoughts and prayers are with you both. I agree with all of the above suggestions but how about making a 'this is your cake life' type collage/album with her? You can ask what her favourite tools are, her favourite cakes etc and her near misses etc. You might even want to talk with some of her former students (if she is happy to of course) about their favourite memories of her.

My biggest sympathy.As much as possible try to see if pple who knows her and loves her wants to buy some of the items before putting them on ebay to strangers,but ebay is the place to sell.Try to spend as much time as possible with her.This will be hard on anybody.

I am so very sad for you both. Obviously, your friend is an amazing person and you have a daunting task. I am just a beginner at this and am trying to build up my supplies. I would be interested in some of her items as maybe someone else on this web site. Is there a way items can be listed here? It might provide some comfort knowing those things that were a big part of her life would continue and be a big part of another's.

I'm so very sorry to hear of the heartbreak you are going through... please know that my love and thoughts are with you, your friend and your families.

I would definitely go to ebay and do a search, if you go to the seller's page there is a place where you can enter in a product and it will show you the price range lowest to highest that they have sold for.........I would pick a middle range price and go from there.
You're definitely going to get more out of an item on ebay than you would having a garage sale.......because instead of your neighbors shopping, it's every person around the world with a pc!

I will be praying for you and your friend, what a terrible time this must be for you both. It's one thing to lose someone, but to have the knowledge that you will lose them in the near future must be such a difficult thing to know. But at least it gives you a chance to really enjoy what time you have left together.

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. How hard for her, and you, and everyone who loves her.

I've never sold on ebay - it sounds like a bit of a hassle to me, although you'd probably get more money. Depends whether getting the most money, or getting everything sold quickly with minimum fuss is the aim. If it's the latter, I'd probably price it as one big job-lot and sell on Craigslist or Kijiji. Or maybe just pull out the vintage Wilton's and sell those on ebay, with the regular stuff going locally.

You don't want to be spending your last few months with your friend lining up at the post office.

JeanneG on the Wilton site wrote a book about vintage pans. I think she even gave a price range for them. Head over there and give her a shout. She is always happy to help.

So very sorry about your friend.

So sorry to hear about your friend. Enjoy the time you have left with her. Not sure about selling all of her treasures. I agree with a previous post that all of us CC's might be interested in the some of the items you have to sell for her. We would definitely treasure a well-loved pan or book from a fellow caker. I will keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.
Leslie

I am so sorry to hear about your friend. You are both in my prayers. If you haven't already, you may want to buy something from your friends cake goods. Every time you use it you will have a fond memmory.

there are times when words fail, this is one.

no words to express the sorrow of such events

no words to express the admiration and awe for someone being a true friend.

no words to express the gift you are giving your friend by being "you"

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And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we donât know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with Godâs own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:26-28

What a heartbreaking story. I think Indydebi is right. It's good you are doing this for her. It will help you both get thru it together. Good luck!


And I ditto the ebay suggestions.

{{HUGS}}